Pro Flight Instrument Panel

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.  I am currently training for an instrument rating and this little device has been indispensable.I use this in combination with Flight Simulator X. It allows you to practice VOR tracking, holding, NDB tracking, NDB holding and approaches without having to use the mouse. Although this little thing is expensive, it lets you set up any scenario, dial it in and fly it. I also have a  Saitek PRO Flight Radio Panel  that I use in combination with this instrument panel in order to make the simulation "more real".The six buttons on the left change the view and perform other functions such as identifying Nav Aids, or displaying maps. The two center buttons scroll through the 12 instruments. Additionally, there are two knobs that allow you to change two separate items. This is particularly useful if you are flying a hold with the autopilot because you can use one knob to change the heading bug and another to change the OBS on VOR 1.This panel becomes more effective as a training aid if you have a yoke, rudder and Saitek PRO Flight Radio Panel  to accompany it.With rental rates as high as they are, it seems well worth it to add this thing to your "sim cockpit" and chair fly your instrument lessons. I was having difficulties with holding patterns, but after flying 8 hours or so with this little gem my skills improved a lot. My instructor noticed the difference and I was able to stay ahead of the airplane when we were actually in the air.My only bother with this display is that it shows an ad for Saitek equipment as the 13th instrument if you will. This is only a minor annoyance, but it doesn't take anything away from the performance of the device.

I bought 12 of them because I have a PC that can handle over 20 UBS at once. I started to use them but there is a delay in the information, I found out from some research on web it’s because of the how it’s coded by Saitek. I called Saitek they told me they couldn’t do anything and weren’t planning any updates soon so if I don’t like it to send it back. So here it is going back to amazon all 12, with the radio panel. I am disappointed that a customer service team would say that but hey who care, they don’t seem to call at all. I know Amazon wouldn't treat customers like this but hey Saitek don't need me or my money so Amazon give this back to them please.

Using with both MS FSX and X-Plane 10 (drivers not included in the box for X-Plane but you can download them). I currently have three of them. I would recommend for the hard-core flight simmer that has a big budget. But on a small budget I wouldn't bother - spend your money on the other Saitek panels like the radio, switch and multi-panel. Then, use an iPad or Android for some of your gauges (there are apps for this).I like what these units do, but... I think they are a tad bit too small to be truly realistic. (call me a perfectionist, okay, but I'm a real pilot). However, I do use them a lot, especially for some of those gauges that are low in the cockpit panel. That way I don't have to pan and scroll my panel when I'm flying. Also, on MS Flight Sim X they tend to disconnect if no data is sent to it. For example, an RPM gauge on a long flight will freeze up - have to pull the cord and reconnect it in order to get it working again (or restart the sim). However, it works very well with X-Plane 10. In fact, the refresh time on X-Plane is sufficient for accurate flying whereas on MS FSX the low screen refresh rate is noticeable.

The FIP provides an additional display for games that support it, as well as buttons that can be custom mapped by the game. Usually these are just used to change images on the display, but each supported game can capture button events and decide what to do with them. (That's up to each game's developers, though.)Saitek provides Flight Sim X gauge support with the drivers, and there are other programs available on SaitekForum.com that translate game data into images on the FIP.The FIP is absolutely amazing with Falcon 4, especially BMS4 -- there are gauges that can be displayed, live textures can be grabbed from the game's 3D cockpit, and the buttons can be mapped to keyboard combos. My favorite setup: use a pair of FIPs to provide the images from the in-game MFDs, and use the Thrustmaster Cougar MFD button panels to allow full control of them without even needing to look at the main screen.These do not present themselves to the computer as additional standard displays, which is both a blessing and a curse. Personally I prefer it this way, because you don't have to rearrange your windows to make use of them. However, that means you can't just take any game and expect it to put anything on the FIP. The games have to support Saitek's DirectOutput, or someone has to write a piece of translation software that reads data from the game and sends images to the FIP. I'll be honest, DirectOutput support amongst games is pretty limited; I wish it weren't so.If you're a C or C++ programmer, Saitek's DirectOutput SDK isn't too hard to use, although the documentation could be better. Since it just uses a simple 320x240 24-bit BGR bitmap format, you can easily read OpenGL framebuffers or .NET graphics into the appropriate buffer and send the data.

Es sin duda uno de los mejores periféricos precio/calidad para simulación. No he tenido ningún problema para que me funcione con FSX, Prepar3D y X-Plane10. Mi único pero es que no funciona con el FS2004.